It is understood that Anhui Province has been releasing alligators into the wild since 2003, and since 2019, it has begun releasing artificially raised alligators into the wild on a large scale. 120 were released in 2019 and 280 in 2020. Articles, 530 will be released into the wild in 2021, and this year’s release of has been completed before June 10.
Compared with the number released into the wild in previous years, a total of 370 artificially bred alligators were released into the wild in Anhui Province this year.
Chinese alligator
Chinese alligator, was called Tuó (tuó) in ancient times, and is commonly known as "Tulong" or " ZhuPolong". It is an ancient reptile that remains from the Mesozoic era (about 250 million years ago to about 65 million years ago).
is also a crocodile unique to China and one of the smallest crocodile species in the world. Because the number of wild alligators is extremely rare and the natural habitat area is very limited, it is listed as a national first-level protected wild animal.
In the 1950s, the alligator was mainly distributed in Pengze, Jiangxi, Huangshan, Anhui, and Taihu in Jiangsu and Zhejiang south of the Yangtze River. After the 1970s, due to the expansion of agriculture and continuous hunting, the distribution range of the alligator was reduced to There is a very limited area in southern Anhui and adjacent Zhejiang. By the late 1980s, only five counties and cities in southeastern Anhui Province still had stable populations of alligators.
In order to protect the alligator from extinction, in 979, the Alligator Breeding Research Center was established in Xiadu Town, Xuanzhou City, Anhui Province, and 212 adult alligators were captured from the wild for artificial breeding in captivity.
Currently, the total number of artificially bred alligators in the center has exceeded 15,000.
But after all, alligators are artificially bred and have no way to exert their ecological value. The number of native alligators in the wild is extremely rare, so alligators have been released into the wild since 2003 to restore the ecological balance.
Reasons why alligators are on the verge of extinction
Although adult alligators have no natural enemies in nature, if they can't defeat you, how can they not defeat your son? Alligator cubs have many natural enemies. Egret, Night heron, and even carnivores such as night cats can basically prey on them. Therefore, the survival rate of alligator cubs is very low. Generally, only 2% of the individuals can survive. to adulthood.
Due to the low survival rate of cubs, the natural habitat is reduced, and the alligator is full of treasures. The meat was once a delicacy at banquets, and the skin is a good material for making high-grade leather products, and it also has high medicinal value. As a result, they were hunted and killed indiscriminately. And because the alligator is a carnivorous animal that can dig burrows on the dike, farmers once regarded it as a harmful animal and would kill it on sight. That's why the alligator is in a situation of almost extinction.
However, people have always avoided crocodiles. Wouldn't releasing alligators on a large scale hurt people?
Although it is a crocodile, the alligator has a relatively docile temperament and generally does not actively attack humans. Compared with other crocodiles, the alligator is also relatively small. The length of an adult is generally between 1.5 meters and 2.1 meters. The weight is only about 60kg-90kg.
And alligators like to be quiet. often live in seclusion in caves during the day and occasionally come out to bask in the sun. will usually take the initiative to avoid after hearing any noise. So far, there has been no incident of wild alligators hurting people. However, like other animals, , has a tendency to attack when it has a bad temper during the breeding period, but this kind of attack usually does not cause substantial harm to people.
So everyone can still rest assured!
The role of releasing alligators
Alligators are carnivorous species, at the top of the food chain, and play an important role in maintaining the balance of the food chain. According to research, the bones of crocodiles are very similar to the bones of dinosaurs . The body surface is covered with neatly arranged scales, indicating that crocodiles and dinosaurs have a certain genetic relationship.Therefore, studying the alligator has a certain guiding role in studying the origin of dinosaurs and the situation in the reptilian era of the Mesozoic Era.
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